Château Grand Corbin-Despagne

The château

Louis Despagne bought the first family parcels at the place called Grand Corbin in 1812, in the north of Saint-Émilion toward Pomerol. The old guides watched the name take shape. Charles Cocks and Édouard Féret, whose Bordeaux et ses vins was the reference book of the Bordeaux trade, listed in 1886 only a Corbin under J. Despagne, 1 among several, at 12 tonneaux (the old Bordeaux measure of a crop, 900 liters, or 4 barrels); by 1898 it made 25, and in 1901 the guide called it Grand-Corbin-Despagne for the first time. In 1908 Jean Despagne’s Cru Grand-Corbin, at 35 tonneaux, stood among the growths ranked between the first and second crus of the graves.

The estate was a Grand Cru Classé from the first Saint-Émilion classification, and the list of 1996 dropped it. François Despagne, the 7th generation, took over that same year and went to work on the soil: 150 soil pits, 53 parcels mapped and then farmed and vinified one by one, integrated farming from 1996 and conversion to organic begun in 2004. The classification of 2006 gave the rank back. Then it vanished again, when the courts annulled that list in 2008 and the one of 1996 returned, until a law of 2009 let the estates promoted in 2006 keep their rank. The lists of 2012 and September 2022 confirmed it. It had to win the same rank 2 times.

The vines grow on sand and clay with iron in it rather than on the limestone plateau, at 6,000 to the hectare, mostly Merlot with Cabernet Franc and a little Cabernet Sauvignon, some of them near 100 years old. The family has never used herbicides, and it replants by massal selection from Merlot and Cabernet Franc going back to the start of the 20th century. The estate is farmed organically, holds Haute Valeur Environnementale (High Environmental Value, the French state’s environmental certification for farms) at level 3 and ISO 14001 since July 2017, and began biodynamic trials in 2018. Petit Corbin-Despagne is the second wine; the family also owns Château Le Chemin in Pomerol and Château Ampélia in Castillon. The 1998, which I tasted in May 2026, showed why that year is so respected on the Right Bank: more than 25 years on, maturity and freshness together.

At a glance

Appellation

Saint-Émilion Grand Cru

Commune

Saint-Émilion, in the north of the appellation toward Pomerol

Classification

Grand Cru Classé from 1955; out in 1996; back in 2006, kept by the law of 2009; 2012 and 2022

Owners

The Despagne family, since 1812

Direction

François Despagne, the 7th generation, since 1996

Vineyard

53 parcels mapped from 150 soil pits; 6,000 vines a hectare; some vines near 100 years old

Soil

Sand and clay with iron Terroir of Saint-Émilion →

Grapes

Mostly Merlot, with Cabernet Franc and a little Cabernet Sauvignon

Farming

Organic; no herbicides ever; Haute Valeur Environnementale, level 3; ISO 14001 from July 2017; biodynamic trials from 2018

Wines

Château Grand Corbin-Despagne; Petit Corbin-Despagne

In history

A Corbin at 12 tonneaux in 1886; Grand-Corbin-Despagne from 1901; 35 tonneaux in 1908